Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
FIG. 1 shows an electrical diagram 10 of a typical arrangement of light control in a building, such as in a domestic, commercial, or industrial environment. An AC power source 11 may be the mains grid, providing Alternating-Current (AC, a.k.a. Line power, AC power, grid power, and household electricity). Commonly, the AC power source 11 supplies 120 VAC/60 Hz in North America (or 115 VAC) and 230 VAC/50 Hz (or 220 VAC) in most of Europe. The AC power typically consists of a sine wave (or sinusoid) waveform, where the voltage relates to an RMS amplitude value (120 or 230), and having a frequency measured in Hertz, relating to the number of cycles (or oscillations) per second. Commonly single-phase infrastructure exists, and a wiring in the building commonly uses three wires, known as a line wire (also known as phase, hot, or active) that carry the alternating current, a neutral wire (also known as zero or return) which completes the electrical circuit by providing a return current path, and an earth or ground wire, typically connected to the chassis of any AC-powered equipment that serves as a safety means against electric shocks. As illustrated in the circuit diagram 10 shown in FIG. 1, a neutral line 14c is connected to a terminal (or connection) 16d of a lamp 12 that serves as a load. The lamp 12 connects via a terminal (or connection) 16c to a wire 14c to a terminal 16a of a lamp switch 13 that is commonly a Single-Pole, Single-Throw (SPST), which connects (via terminal 16b) via a phase wire 14a to the AC power source 11.
The light switch 13 is commonly a mechanically actuated switch 20 as depicted in FIG. 2, that is connected in series between the AC power 11 and the lamp 12, and is typically an on/off switch for turning the illumination of the lamp 12 ‘on’ and ‘off’. As shown in FIG. 2, the switch 13 may be wall-mounted into a standard wall cavity, commonly using a plastic light switch box. The switch in some scenarios is connected via two terminals designated as 16a and 16b, where the terminal 16b connects to the AC power 11 phase via the phase wire 14a, while the terminal 16a connects to the load 12 via the wire 14b. 
The building wiring lighting circuit 10 shown in FIG. 1 allows for a control in one location via the light switch 13. In some places such as in a hallway, stairwell, or a large room, it is more convenient to control the lamp 12 from two (or more) locations. FIG. 1a shows an arrangement of a wiring circuit 15 allowing the control of the lamp 12 from two locations, via two separated switches 17a and 17b, known as multiway switching. The switches 17a and 17b are both Single-Pole, Double-Throw (SPDT) switches (a.k.a. two-way or three-way switches), each having three terminals. The light switch 17a comprises a single pole connected to a center terminal 16e, and can be in one of two states: designated as a state ‘1’ and a state ‘2’. In the state ‘1’ the switch 17a connects the terminal 16e to a terminal 16g, and in the state ‘2’ the switch 17a connects the center terminal 16e to a terminal 16f. Similarly, the light switch 17b comprises a single pole connected to a terminal 16j, and can be in one of two states, designated as a state ‘1’ and a state ‘2’. In state ‘1’ the switch 17b connects the center terminal 16j to a terminal 16h, and in the state ‘2’ the switch 17b connects the center terminal 16j to the a terminal 16i. A wire 14d connects the terminal 16g of the light switch 17a to the terminal 16i of the light switch 17b, and a wire 14e connects the terminal 16f of the light switch 17a to terminal 16h of the light switch 17b. In the case where both switches 17a and 17b are in the same state ‘1’ or ‘2’, the circuit is open, and no current flows to the lamp 12. In all other cases, where the switches are in different states, the circuit is closed hence allowing current to flow to the lamp 12. Thus the lamp 12 may be turned ‘on’ or ‘off’ from any one of the switches 17a and 17b. 
Using the light switch 20 requires a person to physically approach and mechanically activate the switch. In one scenario, it is preferred to remotely turn the lights on or off, without physical access to the switch. Such remote lighting control may be used for building automation, or may be part of, integrated with, or coupled to a building automation system, such as a building automation system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,565 to Lingemann entitled: “Building Automation System”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Such system may further support, be part of, or be integrated with, a Building Automation System (BAS) standard, and may further be in part or in full in accordance with Cisco Validated Design document entitled: “Building Automation System over IP (BAS/IP) Design and Implementation Guide” by Cisco Systems and Johnson Controls, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
A system for remotely controlling the operation of wall-mounted switches is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0176788 to Mor, entitled: “Remote Control System for Controlling Wall-Mounted Switches”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describing a remote control system for controlling the operation of a wall-mounted switch that includes a remote control unit adapted to be located at a remote location with respect to the wall-mounted switch, and having a depressible switch button. Further, a light control system for two-wire installations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,471,687 to Steiner et al., entitled: “Method and Apparatus for Communication Message Signals in a Load Control System”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describing a system for independent control of electric motors and electric lights, where a plurality of two-wire installations are coupled in series via power wires between AC source and a light/motor control unit. Similarly, PCT International Publications Nos. WO 2009/027962 and WO 2009/027963 both to Ziv, both entitled: “Remote Controlled Electrical Switch Retrofit System”, which are incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describe a wall mounted power switch retrofit. The retrofit includes a switch that connects to the existing wires of the retrofitted wall mounted power switch, and allows power to be provided to a load when turned on, and prevents power from being provided to the load when turned off, a control unit that controls the status of the switch, a circuit that draws power from the existing wires and provides it to the control unit, and wherein the control unit receives electrical power regardless of the status of the switch.
An automatically actuatable switch device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,129,850 to Shih entitled: “Automatically Actuatable Switch Device”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describing a switch device that includes a housing, where a circuit board is disposed in the housing for being coupled between an electric power source and an electric appliance, and a remote detecting device that includes a light emitting and receiving device for generating lights to detect whether users are going towards the housing on the switch device or not. Similarly, U.S. Patent Application No. 2010/0277306 to Leinen entitled: “Wireless Occupancy Sensing with Accessible Location Power Switching”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describes a system that includes an accessible electrical box; a wireless receiver to receive a wireless signal from an occupancy sensor; a power switch to control power to a load; and a controller to control the power switch in response to the wireless signal. The wireless receiver, controller, and power switch are included in the accessible electrical box. Further, PCT International Publication No. WO 2014/076697 to Ziv entitled: “Device Kit and Method for Absorbing Leakage Current”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, describes a kit device, and method for absorbing leakage current in an electronic circuit including at least one switch and at least one load by using an absorbing device and an absorbing material or an absorbent marking device, wherein the absorbent marking device is configured to mark or attach an absorbing material on the circuit or on the load.
Dimmer. Dimmers are devices used to lower the brightness of a light by changing the voltage waveform applied to the lamp, allowing for lowering the intensity of the light output. Typically variable-voltage dimmer devices are used to control light output from resistive incandescent, halogen, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) and Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Dimmers range in size from small units the size of a light switch used for domestic lighting to high power units used in large theatre or architectural lighting installations. Dimmers may be directly and manually controlled, or automatically via a control system. Due to their higher efficiency, modern dimmers are built from semiconductors instead of variable resistors, since a variable resistor would dissipate power as heat and acts as a voltage divider, while semiconductor or solid-state dimmers switch between a low resistance “on” state and a high resistance “off” state, they dissipate very little power compared with the controlled load. Semiconductor dimmers switch on at an adjustable time (phase angle) after the start of each alternating current half-cycle, thereby altering the voltage waveform applied to lamps and so changing its RMS effective value. Dimming can be almost instantaneous and is easily controlled by remote electronics. An example of Dimming LEDs using SCR based dimmer technology is described in a paper published by Solomon Systech Limited and authored by Pan Jun (downloaded May 2015) entitled: “SCR (Silicon-Controlled Rectifier) Dimming Technology in LED Lighting”, and in a National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Lighting Systems Division Document LSD 49-2010 (dated 2010) entitled: “Solid State Lighting for Incandescent Replacement—Best Practices for Dimming”, which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Common two-wire dimmer switches are coupled in series electrical connection between an Alternating-Current (AC) power source and a lighting load for controlling the amount of power delivered from the AC power source to the lighting load. A two-wire wall-mounted dimmer switch is adapted to be mounted to a standard electrical wall-box and comprises two load terminals: a hot terminal adapted to be coupled to the hot side of the AC power source and a dimmed hot terminal adapted to be coupled to the lighting load. In other words, the two-wire dimmer switch does not require a connection to the neutral side of the AC power source (i.e., the load control device is a “two-wire” device). Similarly, “three-way” dimmer switches may be used in three-way lighting systems and comprise at least three load terminals, but do not require a connection to the neutral side of the AC power source.
A dimmer switch typically comprises a bidirectional semiconductor switch, e.g., a thryristor (such as a triac) or two Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) in anti-series connection. The bidirectional semiconductor switch is coupled in series between the AC power source and the load, and is controlled to be conductive and non-conductive for portions of a half cycle of the AC power source to thus controlling the amount of power delivered to the electrical load. Generally, dimmer switches use either a forward phase-control dimming technique or a reverse phase-control dimming technique in order to control, when the bidirectional semiconductor switch is rendered conductive and non-conductive to thus control the power delivered to the load. The dimmer switch may comprise a toggle actuator for turning the lighting load on and off and an intensity adjustment actuator for adjusting the intensity of the lighting load.
A two-wire load control device that may be coupled between an AC power source and a load regulation device for a high-efficiency light source, and is able to properly control the intensity of the high-efficiency light source is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,768 to Luchaco et al. entitled: “Two-Wire Low-Voltage Dimmer”, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,919 to Hanna et al. entitled: “Lighting Control Device”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,969,959 to Black et al. entitled: “Electronic Control Systems and Methods”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,687,940 to Morsebrook et al. entitled: “Dimmer Switch for Use with Lighting Circuits Having Three-Way Switches”, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,957,662 to Newman, Jr. et al. entitled: “Load Control Device for High-Efficiency Loads”, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,698,408 to Newman, Jr. entitled: “Two-Wire Dimmer Switch for Low Power Loads”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
AC/DC Power Supply. A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric energy to an electrical load, where the primary function of a power supply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another and, as a result, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric power converters. Some power supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices, whereas others are built into larger devices along with their loads. Examples of the latter include power supplies found in desktop computers and consumer electronics devices. Every power supply must obtain the energy it supplies to its load, as well as any energy it consumes while performing that task, from an energy source. Depending on its design, a power supply may obtain energy from various types of energy sources, including electrical energy transmission systems, energy storage devices such as a batteries and fuel cells, electromechanical systems such as generators and alternators, solar power converters, or another power supply. All power supplies have a power input, which receives energy from the energy source, and a power output that delivers energy to the load. In most power supplies, the power input and the power output consist of electrical connectors or hardwired circuit connections, though some power supplies employ wireless energy transfer in lieu of galvanic connections for the power input or output.
Some power supplies have other types of inputs and outputs as well, for functions such as external monitoring and control. Power supplies are categorized in various ways, including by functional features. For example, a regulated power supply is one that maintains constant output voltage or current despite variations in load current or input voltage. Conversely, the output of an unregulated power supply can change significantly when its input voltage or load current changes. Adjustable power supplies allow the output voltage or current to be programmed by mechanical controls (e.g., knobs on the power supply front panel), or by means of a control input, or both. An adjustable regulated power supply is one that is both adjustable and regulated. An isolated power supply has a power output that is electrically independent of its power input; this is in contrast to other power supplies that share a common connection between power input and output.
AC-to-DC (AC/DC) power supply uses AC mains electricity as an energy source, and typically employs a transformer to convert the input voltage to a higher, or commonly lower AC voltage. A rectifier is used to convert the transformer output voltage to a varying DC voltage, which in turn is passed through an electronic filter to convert it to an unregulated DC voltage. The filter removes most, but not all of the AC voltage variations; the remaining voltage variations are known as a ripple. The electric load tolerance of ripple dictates the minimum amount of filtering that must be provided by a power supply. In some applications, high ripple is tolerated and therefore no filtering is required. For example, in some battery charging applications, it is possible to implement a mains-powered DC power supply with nothing more than a transformer and a single rectifier diode, with a resistor in series with the output to limit charging current.
The function of a linear voltage regulator is to convert a varying AC or DC voltage to a constant, often specific, lower DC voltage. In addition, they often provide a current limiting function to protect the power supply and load from overcurrent (excessive, potentially destructive current). A constant output voltage is required in many power supply applications, but the voltage provided by many energy sources will vary with changes in load impedance. Furthermore, when an unregulated DC power supply is the energy source, its output voltage will also vary with changing input voltage. To circumvent this, some power supplies use a linear voltage regulator to maintain the output voltage at a steady value, independent of fluctuations in input voltage and load impedance. Linear regulators can also reduce the magnitude of ripple and noise present appearing on the output voltage.
In a Switched-Mode Power Supply (SMPS), the AC mains input is directly rectified and then filtered to obtain a DC voltage, which is then switched “on” and “off” at a high frequency by electronic switching circuitry, thus producing an AC current that will pass through a high-frequency transformer or inductor. Switching occurs at a very high frequency (typically 10 kHz-1 MHz), thereby enabling the use of transformers and filter capacitors that are much smaller, lighter, and less expensive than those found in linear power supplies operating at mains frequency. After the inductor or transformer secondary, the high frequency AC is rectified and filtered to produce the DC output voltage. If the SMPS uses an adequately insulated high-frequency transformer, the output will be electrically isolated from the mains; this feature is often essential for safety. Switched-mode power supplies are usually regulated, and to keep the output voltage constant, the power supply employs a feedback controller that monitors current drawn by the load. SMPSs often include safety features such as current limiting or a crowbar circuit to help protect the device and the user from harm. In the event that an abnormally high-current power draw is detected, the switched-mode supply can assume this is a direct short and will shut itself down before damage is done. PC power supplies often provide a power good signal to the motherboard; the absence of this signal prevents operation when abnormal supply voltages are present.
Power supplies are described in Agilent Technologies Application Note 90B dated Oct. 1, 2000 (5925-4020) entitled: “DC Power Supply Handbook” and in Application Note 1554 dated Feb. 4, 2005 (5989-2291EN) entitled: “Understanding Linear Power Supply Operation”, and in On Semiconductor® Reference Manual Rev. 4 dated April 2014 (SMPSRM/D) entitled: “Switch-Mode Power Supply”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Internet. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP), including Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the interlinked hypertext documents on the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers on the Internet. These data routers are hosted by commercial, government, academic, and other high-capacity network centers, the Internet exchange points and network access points that interchange Internet traffic between the countries, continents and across the oceans of the world. Traffic interchange between Internet service providers (often Tier 1 networks) participating in the Internet backbone exchange traffic by privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily governed by the principle of settlement-free peering.
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol suite (IP) described in RFC 675 and RFC 793, and the entire suite is often referred to as TCP/IP. TCP provides reliable, ordered and error-checked delivery of a stream of octets between programs running on computers connected to a local area network, intranet or the public Internet. It resides at the transport layer. Web browsers typically use TCP when they connect to servers on the World Wide Web, and is used to deliver email and transfer files from one location to another. HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, SSH, FTP, Telnet and a variety of other protocols are encapsulated in TCP. As the transport layer of TCP/IP suite, the TCP provides a communication service at an intermediate level between an application program and the Internet Protocol (IP). Due to network congestion, traffic load balancing, or other unpredictable network behavior, IP packets may be lost, duplicated, or delivered out-of-order. TCP detects these problems, requests retransmission of lost data, rearranges out-of-order data, and even helps minimize network congestion to reduce the occurrence of the other problems. Once the TCP receiver has reassembled the sequence of octets originally transmitted, it passes them to the receiving application. Thus, TCP abstracts the application's communication from the underlying networking details. The TCP is utilized extensively by many of the Internet's most popular applications, including the World Wide Web (WWW), E-mail, File Transfer Protocol, Secure Shell, peer-to-peer file sharing, and some streaming media applications.
While IP layer handles actual delivery of the data, TCP keeps track of the individual units of data transmission, called segments, which are divided smaller pieces of a message, or data for efficient routing through the network. For example, when an HTML file is sent from a web server, the TCP software layer of that server divides the sequence of octets of the file into segments and forwards them individually to the IP software layer (Internet Layer). The Internet Layer encapsulates each TCP segment into an IP packet by adding a header that includes (among other data) the destination IP address. When the client program on the destination computer receives them, the TCP layer (Transport Layer) reassembles the individual segments and ensures they are correctly ordered and error-free as it streams them to an application.
The TCP protocol operations may be divided into three phases. First, the connections must be properly established in a multi-step handshake process (connection establishment) before entering the data transfer phase. After data transmission is completed, the connection termination closes established virtual circuits and releases all allocated resources. A TCP connection is typically managed by an operating system through a programming interface that represents the local end-point for communications, the Internet socket. The local end-point undergoes a series of state changes throughout the duration of a TCP connection.
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams (packets) across a network using the Internet Protocol Suite. It is considered as the primary protocol that establishes the Internet, and is responsible for routing packets across the network boundaries. IP is the primary protocol in the Internet Layer of the Internet Protocol Suite and has the task of delivering datagrams from the source host to the destination host based on their addresses. For this purpose, IP defines addressing methods and structures for datagram encapsulation. Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the dominant protocol of the Internet. IPv4 is described in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 791 and RFC 1349, and the successor, Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), is currently active and in growing deployment worldwide. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses (providing 4 billion: 4.3×109 addresses), while IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses (providing 340 undecillion or 3.4×1038 addresses), as described in RFC 2460.
The Internet architecture employs a client-server model, among other arrangements. The terms ‘server’ or ‘server computer’ relates herein to a device or computer (or a plurality of computers) connected to the Internet, and is used for providing facilities or services to other computers or other devices (referred to in this context as ‘clients’) connected to the Internet. A server is commonly a host that has an IP address and executes a ‘server program’, and typically operates as a socket listener. Many servers have dedicated functionality such as web server, Domain Name System (DNS) server (described in RFC 1034 and RFC 1035), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server (described in RFC 2131 and RFC 3315), mail server, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server and database server. Similarly, the term ‘client’ is used herein to include, but not limited to, a program or a device, or a computer (or a series of computers) executing this program, which accesses a server over the Internet for a service or a resource. Clients commonly initiate connections that a server may accept. For non-limiting example, web browsers are clients that connect to web servers for retrieving web pages, and email clients connect to mail storage servers for retrieving mails.
Wireless. Some embodiments herein may be used in conjunction with one or more types of wireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, Radio Frequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Any wireless network or wireless connection herein may be operating substantially in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11k, 802.11n, 802.11r, 802.16, 802.16d, 802.16e, 802.20, 802.21 standards and/or future versions and/or derivatives of the above standards. Further, a network element (or a device) herein may consist of, be part of, or include, a cellular radio-telephone communication system, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device that incorporates a wireless communication device, or a mobile/portable Global Positioning System (GPS) device. Further, a wireless communication may be based on wireless technologies that are described in Chapter 20: “Wireless Technologies” of the publication number 1-587005-001-3 by Cisco Systems, Inc. (July 1999) entitled: “Internetworking Technologies Handbook”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Wireless technologies and networks are further described in a book published 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. William Stallings [ISBN: 0-13-191835-4] entitled: “Wireless Communications and Networks—second Edition”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Wireless networking typically employs an antenna (a.k.a. aerial), which is an electrical device that converts electric power into radio waves, and vice versa, connected to a wireless radio transceiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric current oscillating at radio frequency to the antenna terminals, and the antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves (radio waves). In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of an electromagnetic wave in order to produce a low voltage at its terminals that is applied to a receiver to be amplified. Typically an antenna consists of an arrangement of metallic conductors (elements), electrically connected (often through a transmission line) to the receiver or transmitter. An oscillating current of electrons forced through the antenna by a transmitter will create an oscillating magnetic field around the antenna elements, while the charge of the electrons also creates an oscillating electric field along the elements. These time-varying fields radiate away from the antenna into space as a moving transverse electromagnetic field wave. Conversely, during reception, the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of an incoming radio wave exert force on the electrons in the antenna elements, causing them to move back and forth, creating oscillating currents in the antenna. Antennas can be designed to transmit and receive radio waves in all horizontal directions equally (omnidirectional antennas), or preferentially in a particular direction (directional or high gain antennas). In the latter case, an antenna may also include additional elements or surfaces with no electrical connection to the transmitter or receiver, such as parasitic elements, parabolic reflectors or horns, which serve to direct the radio waves into a beam or other desired radiation pattern.
LPD433. LPD433 (Low Power Device 433 MHz) is a UHF band in which license-free communication devices are allowed to operate in Europe and other countries over the world. The frequencies correspond with the ITU region 1 ISM band of 433.050 MHz to 434.790 MHz, and operation is mainly limited to CEPT countries. The frequencies used are within the 70-centimeter band, which is traditionally reserved for higher power amateur radio operations in most nations worldwide. LPD hand-held radios are authorized for license-free voice communications used in most of Europe using analog frequency modulation (FM) as part of short-range device regulations, with 25 kHz channel spacing, for a total of 69 channels. In some countries, LPD devices may only be used with the integral and non-removable antenna with a maximum legal power output of 10 mW. LPD433 is also commonly used by wireless instruments and digital devices such as car keylocks.
Zigbee. ZigBee is a standard for a suite of high-level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on an IEEE 802 standard for Personal Area Network (PAN). Applications include wireless light switches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, and other consumer and industrial equipment that require a short-range wireless transfer of data at relatively low rates. The technology defined by the ZigBee specification is intended to be simpler and less expensive than other WPANs, such as Bluetooth. ZigBee is targeted at Radio-Frequency (RF) applications that require a low data rate, long battery life, and secure networking. ZigBee has a defined rate of 250 kbps suited for periodic or intermittent data or a single signal transmission from a sensor or input device.
ZigBee builds upon the physical layer and medium access control defined in IEEE standard 802.15.4 (2003 version) for low-rate WPANs. The specification further discloses four main components: network layer, application layer, ZigBee Device Objects (ZDOs), and manufacturer-defined application objects, which allow for customization and favor total integration. The ZDOs are responsible for a number of tasks, which include keeping of device roles, management of requests to join a network, device discovery, and security. Because ZigBee nodes can go from a sleep to active mode in 30 ms or less, the latency can be low and devices can be responsive, particularly compared to Bluetooth wake-up delays, which are typically around three seconds. ZigBee nodes can sleep most of the time, thus an average power consumption can be lower, resulting in longer battery life.
There are three defined types of ZigBee devices: ZigBee Coordinator (ZC), ZigBee Router (ZR), and ZigBee End Device (ZED). ZigBee Coordinator (ZC) is the most capable device and forms the root of the network tree and might bridge to other networks. There is exactly one defined ZigBee coordinator in each network, since it is the device that started the network originally. It is able to store information about the network, including acting as the Trust Center & repository for security keys. ZigBee Router (ZR) may be running an application function as well as can acting as an intermediate router, passing on data from other devices. ZigBee End Device (ZED) contains functionality to talk to a parent node (either the coordinator or a router). This relationship allows the node to be asleep a significant amount of the time, thereby giving long battery life. A ZED requires the least amount of memory, and therefore can be less expensive to manufacture than a ZR or ZC.
The protocols build on recent algorithmic research (Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector, neuRFon) to automatically construct a low-speed ad-hoc network of nodes. In most large network instances, the network will be a cluster of clusters. It can also form a mesh or a single cluster. The current ZigBee protocols support beacon and non-beacon enabled networks. In non-beacon-enabled networks, an unslotted CSMA/CA channel access mechanism is used. In this type of network, ZigBee Routers typically have their receivers continuously active, requiring a more robust power supply. However, this allows for heterogeneous networks in which some devices receive continuously, while others only transmit when an external stimulus is detected.
In beacon-enabled networks, the special network nodes called ZigBee Routers transmit periodic beacons to confirm their presence to other network nodes. Nodes may sleep between the beacons, thus lowering their duty cycle and extending their battery life. Beacon intervals depend on the data rate; they may range from 15.36 milliseconds to 251.65824 seconds at 250 Kbit/s, from 24 milliseconds to 393.216 seconds at 40 Kbit/s, and from 48 milliseconds to 786.432 seconds at 20 Kbit/s. In general, the ZigBee protocols minimize the time the radio is on to reduce power consumption. In beaconing networks, nodes only need to be active while a beacon is being transmitted. In non-beacon-enabled networks, power consumption is decidedly asymmetrical: some devices are always active, while others spend most of their time sleeping.
Except for the Smart Energy Profile 2.0, current ZigBee devices conform to the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (LR-WPAN) standard. The standard specifies the lower protocol layers—the PHYsical layer (PHY), and the Media Access Control (MAC) portion of the Data Link Layer (DLL). The basic channel access mode is “Carrier Sense, Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance” (CSMA/CA), that is, the nodes talk in the same way that people converse; they briefly check to see that no one is talking before they start. There are three notable exceptions to the use of CSMA. Beacons are sent on a fixed time schedule, and do not use CSMA. Message acknowledgments also do not use CSMA. Finally, devices in Beacon Oriented networks that have low latency real-time requirements, may also use Guaranteed Time Slots (GTS), which by definition do not use CSMA.
Z-Wave. Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol by the Z-Wave Alliance (http://www.z-wave.com) designed for home automation, specifically for remote control applications in residential and light commercial environments. The technology uses a low-power RF radio embedded or retrofitted into home electronics devices and systems, such as lighting, home access control, entertainment systems and household appliances. Z-Wave communicates using a low-power wireless technology designed specifically for remote control applications. Z-Wave operates in the sub-gigahertz frequency range, around 900 MHz. This band competes with some cordless telephones and other consumer electronics devices, but avoids interference with WiFi and other systems that operate on the crowded 2.4 GHz band. Z-Wave is designed to be easily embedded in consumer electronics products, including battery-operated devices such as remote controls, smoke alarms and security sensors.
Z-Wave is a mesh networking technology where each node or device on the network is capable of sending and receiving control commands through walls or floors, and use intermediate nodes to route around household obstacles or radio dead spots that might occur in the home. Z-Wave devices can work individually or in groups, and can be programmed into scenes or events that trigger multiple devices, either automatically or via remote control. The Z-wave radio specifications include bandwidth of 9,600 bit/s or 40 Kbit/s, fully interoperable, GFSK modulation, and a range of approximately 100 feet (or 30 meters) assuming “open air” conditions, with reduced range indoors depending on building materials, etc. The Z-Wave radio uses the 900 MHz ISM band: 908.42 MHz (United States); 868.42 MHz (Europe); 919.82 MHz (Hong Kong); and 921.42 MHz (Australia/New Zealand).
Z-Wave uses a source-routed mesh network topology and has one or more master controllers that control routing and security. The devices can communicate to another by using intermediate nodes to actively route around, and circumvent household obstacles or radio dead spots that might occur. A message from node A to node C can be successfully delivered even if the two nodes are not within range, providing that a third node B can communicate with nodes A and C. If the preferred route is unavailable, the message originator will attempt other routes until a path is found to the “C” node. Therefore, a Z-Wave network can span much farther than the radio range of a single unit; however, with several of these hops, a delay may be introduced between the control command and the desired result. In order for Z-Wave units to be able to route unsolicited messages, they cannot be in sleep mode. Therefore, most battery-operated devices are not designed as repeater units. A Z-Wave network can consist of up to 232 devices with the option of bridging networks if more devices are required.
WWAN. Any wireless network herein may be a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) such as a wireless broadband network, and the WWAN port may be an antenna and the WWAN transceiver may be a wireless modem. The wireless network may be a satellite network, the antenna may be a satellite antenna, and the wireless modem may be a satellite modem. The wireless network may be a WiMAX network such as according to, or based on, IEEE 802.16-2009, the antenna may be a WiMAX antenna, and the wireless modem may be a WiMAX modem. The wireless network may be a cellular telephone network, the antenna may be a cellular antenna, and the wireless modem may be a cellular modem. The cellular telephone network may be a Third Generation (3G) network, and may use UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000 1×RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, or GSM EDGE-Evolution. The cellular telephone network may be a Fourth Generation (4G) network and may use HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be based on IEEE 802.20-2008.
WLAN. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), is a popular wireless technology that makes use of the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum. In the US, three of the bands within the ISM spectrum are the A band, 902-928 MHz; the B band, 2.4-2.484 GHz (a.k.a. 2.4 GHz); and the C band, 5.725-5.875 GHz (a.k.a. 5 GHz). Overlapping and/or similar bands are used in different regions such as Europe and Japan. In order to allow interoperability between equipment manufactured by different vendors, few WLAN standards have evolved, as part of the IEEE 802.11 standard group, branded as WiFi (www.wi-fi.org). IEEE 802.11b describes a communication using the 2.4 GHz frequency band and supporting communication rate of 11 Mb/s, IEEE 802.11a uses the 5 GHz frequency band to carry 54 MB/s and IEEE 802.11g uses the 2.4 GHz band to support 54 Mb/s. The WiFi technology is further described in a publication entitled: “WiFi Technology” by Telecom Regulatory Authority, published on July 2003, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The IEEE 802 defines an ad-hoc connection between two or more devices without using a wireless access point: the devices communicate directly when in range. An ad hoc network offers peer-to-peer layout and is commonly used in situations such as a quick data exchange or a multiplayer LAN game, because the setup is easy and an access point is not required.
A node/client with a WLAN interface is commonly referred to as STA (Wireless Station/Wireless client). The STA functionality may be embedded as part of the data unit, or alternatively be a dedicated unit, referred to as bridge, coupled to the data unit. While STAs may communicate without any additional hardware (ad-hoc mode), such network usually involves Wireless Access Point (a.k.a. WAP or AP) as a mediation device. The WAP implements the Basic Stations Set (BSS) and/or ad-hoc mode based on Independent BSS (IBSS). STA, client, bridge and WAP will be collectively referred to hereon as WLAN unit. Bandwidth allocation for IEEE 802.11g wireless in the U.S. allows multiple communication sessions to take place simultaneously, where eleven overlapping channels are defined spaced 5 MHz apart, spanning from 2412 MHz as the center frequency for channel number 1, via channel 2 centered at 2417 MHz and 2457 MHz as the center frequency for channel number 10, up to channel 11 centered at 2462 MHz. Each channel bandwidth is 22 MHz, symmetrically (+/−11 MHz) located around the center frequency. In the transmission path, first the baseband signal (IF) is generated based on the data to be transmitted, using 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) based OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) modulation technique, resulting a 22 MHz (single channel wide) frequency band signal. The signal is then up converted to the 2.4 GHz (RF) and placed in the center frequency of required channel, and transmitted to the air via the antenna. Similarly, the receiving path comprises a received channel in the RF spectrum, down converted to the baseband (IF) wherein the data is then extracted.
In order to support multiple devices and using a permanent solution, a Wireless Access Point (WAP) is typically used. A Wireless Access Point (WAP, or Access Point—AP) is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, or related standards. The WAP usually connects to a router (via a wired network) as a standalone device, but can also be an integral component of the router itself. Using Wireless Access Point (AP) allows users to add devices that access the network with little or no cables. A WAP normally connects directly to a wired Ethernet connection, and the AP then provides wireless connections using radio frequency links for other devices to utilize that wired connection. Most APs support the connection of multiple wireless devices to one wired connection. Wireless access typically involves special security considerations, since any device within a range of the WAP can attach to the network. The most common solution is wireless traffic encryption. Modern access points come with built-in encryption such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), typically used with a password or a passphrase. Authentication in general, and a WAP authentication in particular, is used as the basis for authorization, which determines whether a privilege may be granted to a particular user or process, privacy, which keeps information from becoming known to non-participants, and non-repudiation, which is the inability to deny having done something that was authorized to be done based on the authentication. An authentication in general, and a WAP authentication in particular, may use an authentication server, that provides a network service that applications may use to authenticate the credentials, usually account names and passwords of their users. When a client submits a valid set of credentials, it receives a cryptographic ticket that it can subsequently be used to access various services. Authentication algorithms include passwords, Kerberos, and public key encryption.
Prior art technologies for data networking may be based on single carrier modulation techniques, such as AM (Amplitude Modulation), FM (Frequency Modulation), and PM (Phase Modulation), as well as bit encoding techniques such as QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying). Spread spectrum technologies, to include both DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) and FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) are known in the art. Spread spectrum commonly employs Multi-Carrier Modulation (MCM) such as OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). OFDM and other spread spectrum are commonly used in wireless communication systems, particularly in WLAN networks.
BAN. A wireless network may be a Body Area Network (BAN) according to, or based on, IEEE 802.15.6 standard, and communicating devices may comprise a BAN interface that may include a BAN port and a BAN transceiver. The BAN may be a Wireless BAN (WBAN), and the BAN port may be an antenna and the BAN transceiver may be a WBAN modem.
Bluetooth. A Personal Area Network (PAN) may be according to, or based on, Bluetooth™ or IEEE 802.15.1-2005 standard. A Bluetooth controlled electrical appliance is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0159877 to Huang entitled: “Bluetooth Controllable Electrical Appliance”, and an electric power supply is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2014/0070613 to Garb et al. entitled: “Electric Power Supply and Related Methods”, which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
WMN. A Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) and Wireless Distribution Systems (WDS) are known in the art to be a communication network made up of clients, mesh routers and gateways organized in a mesh topology and connected using radio. Such wireless networks may be based on DSR as the routing protocol. WMNs are standardized in IEEE 802.11s and described in a slide-show by W. Steven Conner, Intel Corp. et al. entitled: “IEEE 802.11s Tutorial” presented at the IEEE 802 Plenary, Dallas on Nov. 13, 2006, in a slide-show by Eugen Borcoci of University Politehnica Bucharest, entitled: “Wireless Mesh Networks Technologies: Architectures, Protocols, Resource Management and Applications”, presented in INFOWARE Conference on Aug. 22-29, 2009 in Cannes, France, and in an IEEE Communication magazine paper by Joseph D. Camp and Edward W. Knightly of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Tex., USA, entitled: “The IEEE 802.11s Extended Service Set Mesh Networking Standard”, which are incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The arrangement described herein can be equally applied to such wireless networks, wherein two clients exchange information using different paths by using mesh routers as intermediate and relay servers. Commonly in wireless networks, the routing is based on MAC addresses. Hence, the above discussion relating to IP addresses applies in such networks to using the MAC addresses for identifying the client originating the message, the mesh routers (or gateways) serving as the relay servers, and the client serving as the ultimate destination computer.
WiGig™. Any wireless communication herein may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on, the WiGig™ technology developed by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (wirelessgigabitalliance.org—preceded by http://), and standardized as IEEE 802.11ad, allowing multi-gigabit data rate and using the unlicensed 60 GHz frequency band. The WiGig tri-band enabled in-room devices, which operate in the 2.4, 5 and 60 GHz bands, supports data transmission rates up to 7 Gbit/s, and is based on, supplements and extends the 802.11 Media Access Control (MAC) layer and is thus backward compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard. The specifications further supports protocol adaptation layers are being developed to support specific system interfaces including data buses for PC peripherals and display interfaces for HDTVs, monitors and projectors, and is based on phase array antenna beamforming, enabling robust communication at distances beyond 10 meters, while the beams can move within the coverage area through modification of the transmission phase of individual antenna elements. The WiGig technology is further described in the white paper entitled: “WiGig White Paper—Defining the Future of Multi-Gigabit Wireless Communications”, published by WiGig Alliance, July 2010, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
WirelessHD™. Alternatively or in addition, an in-room wireless communication may be in accordance with, or based on, the WirelessHD™ technology developed by the WirelessHD™ Consortium (www.wirelesshd.org—preceded by http://)) and standardized as IEEE 802.15.3c-2009, which is based on a 7 GHz channel in the 60 GHz Extremely High Frequency radio band. It allows for either compressed (H.264) or uncompressed digital transmission of high-definition video and audio and data signals. The 1.1 version of the specification increases the maximum data rate to 28 Gbit/s, supports common 3D formats, 4K resolution, WPAN data, low-power mode for portable devices, and HDCP 2.0 content protection. The 60 GHz band usually requires line of sight between transmitter and receiver, and the WirelessHD specification ameliorates this limitation through the use of beam forming at the receiver and transmitter antennas to increase the signal's effective radiated power. The range obtained may be in-room, point-to-point, non line-of-sight (NLOS) at up to 10 meters. Further, The WirelessHD specification has provisions for content encryption via Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) as well as provisions for network management. The WirelessHD™ technology is further described in the overview entitled: “WirelessHD Specifications Version 1.1 Overview”, published by the WirelessHD consortium, May 2010, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
WHDI. Any wireless communication herein may be in accordance with, or based on, the Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI™) technology developed by the WHDI™ Special Interest Group (http://www.whdi.org), and provides a high-quality, uncompressed wireless link which can support delivery of equivalent video data rates of up to 3 Gbps (including uncompressed 1080p) in a 40 MHz channel in the 5 GHz unlicensed band, conforming to FCC regulations. Equivalent video data rates of up to 1.5 Gbps (including uncompressed 1080i and 720p) can be delivered on a single 20 MHz channel in the 5 GHz unlicensed band, conforming to worldwide 5 GHz spectrum regulations. The range is beyond 100 feet, through walls, and latency is less than one millisecond. The WHDI™ technology is further described in the technical overview entitled: “Enabling Wireless uncompressed HDTV Connectivity with a Unique Video-Modem Approach” by Meir Feder, published by the AMIMON Ltd., which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
A wireless communication may use white spaces, which relates to the frequencies and frequency bands allocated between used or licensed radio frequency bands (or channels) to avoid interference or to serve as guard band. Further, white space refers to frequency bands between about 50 MHz and 700 MHz traditionally used for analog television broadcast, and were freed in the switchover to digital television. In the United States, full power analog television broadcasts, which operated between the 54 MHz and 806 MHz (54-72, 76-88, 174-216, 470-608, and 614-806) television frequencies (Channels 2-69), ceased operating on Jun. 12, 2009 per a United States digital switchover mandate. At that time, full power TV stations were required to switch to digital transmission, and operate only between 54 MHz and 698 MHz. The abandoned television frequencies are primarily covering TV channels 52 to 69 (698 to 806 MHz), as well as unused television frequencies between 54 MHz and 698 MHz (TV Channels 2-51). In the rest of the world, the abandoned television channels are VHF, and the resulting large VHF white spaces are being re-allocated for the worldwide (except the U.S.) digital radio standard DAB and DAB+, and DMB. A device intended to use these available channels is commonly referred to as a “White-Spaces Device” (WSD), and are typically designed to detect the presence of existing but unused areas of the airwaves, such as those reserved for analog television, and utilize these unused airwaves to transmit signals for communication application such as for Internet connectivity. The communication over white spaces may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on, IEEE 802.11af or IEEE 802.22 standards (sometimes referred to as Super Wi-Fi standards).
The wireless communication over white spaces may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on, Wireless Regional Area Network (WRAN) standard IEEE 802.22—“Standard for Wireless Regional Area Networks (WRAN)—Specific requirements—Part 22: Cognitive Wireless RAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications: Policies and procedures for operation in the TV Bands”, described in the article “IEEE 802.22: An Introduction to the First Wireless Standard based on Cognitive Radios”, by Carlos Cordeiro, Kiran Challapali, Dagnachew Birru, and Sai Shankar, published in the Journal of Communication, Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2006, and in the presentation “IEEE 802.22 Wireless Regional Area Networks—Enabling Rural Broadband Wireless Access Using Cognitive Radio Technology”, by Apruva N. Mody and Gerald Chouinard, Doc. # IEEE 802.22—10/0073r3 June 2010, which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Such communication may use Cognitive Radio (CR) techniques to allow sharing of geographically unused spectrum formerly allocated to the Television Broadcast Service, on a non-interfering basis. Cognitive-based dynamic spectrum access is described, for example, in the document entitled: “Dynamic Spectrum Access In IEEE 802.22—Based Cognitive Wireless Networks: A Game Theoretic Model for Competitive Spectrum Bidding and Pricing” by Dusit Niyato and Ekram Hossain, published IEEE Wireless Communication April 2009, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
The communication may operate in a point to multipoint basis (P2MP), and the network may be formed by Base Stations (BS) and Customer-Premises Equipment (CPE), where the CPEs are communicating with a BS via a wireless link, while the BSs control the medium access for all the CPEs attached to it. The WRAN Base Stations may be capable of performing a distributed sensing, where the CPEs are sensing the spectrum, and are sending periodic reports to the BS informing it about what they sense, such that the BS, with the information gathered, may evaluate whether a change is necessary in the channel or channels used, or on the contrary, if it should stay transmitting and receiving in the same one. The PHY layer may use OFDMA as the modulation scheme and may use one TV channel (a TV channel typically has a bandwidth of 6 MHz; in some countries 7 or 8 MHz is used), and may use more than one channel using a Channel Bonding scheme.
NFC. Any wireless communication herein may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on, short-range communication such as Near Field Communication (NFC), having a theoretical working distance of 20 centimeters and a practical working distance of about 4 centimeters, and commonly used with mobile devices, such as smartphones. The NFC typically operates at 13.56 MHz as defined in ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface, and at data rates ranging from 106 Kbit/s to 424 Kbit/s. NFC commonly involves an initiator and a target; the initiator actively generates an RF field that may power a passive target. NFC peer-to-peer communication is possible, provided both devices are powered.
The NFC typically supports passive and active modes of operation. In passive communication mode, the initiator device provides a carrier field and the target device answers by modulating the existing field, and the target device may draw its operating power from the initiator-provided electromagnetic field, thus making the target device a transponder. In active communication mode, both devices typically have power supplies, and both initiator and target devices communicate by alternately generating their own fields, where a device deactivates its RF field while it is waiting for data. NFC typically uses Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK), and employs two different schemes to transfer data. At the data transfer rate of 106 Kbit/s, a modified Miller coding with 100% modulation is used, while in all other cases Manchester coding is used with a modulation ratio of 10%.
The NFC communication may be partly or in full in accordance with, or based on, NFC standards ISO/IEC 18092 or ECMA-340 entitled: “Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol-1 (NFCIP-1)”, and ISO/IEC 21481 or ECMA-352 standards entitled: “Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol-2 (NECIP-2)”. The NFC technology is described in ECMA International white paper Ecma/TC32-TG19/2005/012 entitled: “Near Field Communication—White paper”, in Rohde & Schwarz White Paper 1MA182_4e entitled: “Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology and Measurements White Paper”, and in Jan Kremer Consulting Services (JKCS) white paper entitled: “NFC—Near Field Communication—White paper”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Cellular. Cellular telephone network may be according to, or may be based on, a Third Generation (3G) network that uses UMTS W-CDMA, UMTS HSPA, UMTS TDD, CDMA2000 1×RTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, GSM EDGE-Evolution, the cellular telephone network may be a Fourth Generation (4G) network that uses HSPA+, Mobile WiMAX, LTE, LTE-Advanced, MBWA, or may be based on IEEE 802.20-2008.
Electronic circuits and components are described in a book by Wikipedia entitled: “Electronics” downloaded from en.wikibooks.org dated Mar. 15, 2015, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
In an ‘off’ state of the circuit 10 shown in FIG. 1, where the AC power switch 13 is in ‘open’ state, no current is flowing in the circuit, and in particular, no AC power is flowing from the AC power source 11 to the load 12. In some cases, it may be beneficial to use low power circuits in the system, such as for remotely controlling the load 12, or for other uses of the pre-existing wiring environment shown in the arrangement 10. Since in the ‘off’ state no current is flowing through, no power is available at both the switch 13 location and the load 12 location.
Galvanic Isolation. Galvanic isolation is a principle of isolating functional sections of electrical systems to prevent current flow; no direct conduction path is permitted. Energy or information can still be exchanged between the sections by other means, such as capacitance, induction, or electromagnetic waves, or by optical, acoustic, or mechanical means. Galvanic isolation is used where two or more electrical circuits must communicate, but their grounds may be at different potentials. It is an effective method of breaking ground loops by preventing unwanted current from flowing between two units sharing a ground conductor. Galvanic isolation is also used for safety, preventing accidental current from reaching ground through a person's body.
Transformers couple by magnetic flux, where the primary and secondary windings of a transformer are not connected to each other (an autotransformer has a conductive connection between its windings and so does not provide isolation). The voltage difference that may safely be applied between windings without the risk of breakdown (the isolation voltage) is specified in kilovolts by an industry standard. While transformers are usually used to change voltages, isolation transformers with a 1:1 ratio are used in safety applications. Opto-isolators transmit information by light waves, where the sender (light source) and receiver (photosensitive device) are not electrically connected; typically, they are held in place within a matrix of opaque, insulating plastic. Isolation of digital signals is described in a Developer's Guide SLLA284A Revised November 2014 by Texas Instruments Incorporated entitled “Digital Isolator Design Guide”, data-bus transformer-based isolators are described in a data sheet KMP_1600C_B05 published 2011 by Murata Power Solutions, Inc., entitled: “1600C & 1630C—Quad Data-Bus Isolators”, and SPI isolator is described in a data sheet LT 0514 Rev. C by Linear Technology Corporation (downloaded July 2015) entitled: “LTM2883 —SPI/Digital or I2C μModule Isolator with Adjustable ±12.5V and 5V Regulated Power”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Smartphone. A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, smartphone, or hand phone) is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area, by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator. The calls are to and from the public telephone network, which includes other mobiles and fixed-line phones across the world. The Smartphones are typically hand-held and may combine the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA), and may serve as portable media players and camera phones with high-resolution touch-screens, web browsers that can access, and properly display, standard web pages rather than just mobile-optimized sites, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access. In addition to telephony, the Smartphones may support a wide variety of other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography.
An example of a contemporary smartphone is model iPhone 6 available from Apple Inc., headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., U.S.A. and described in iPhone 6 technical specification (retrieved October 2015 from www.apple.com/iphone-6/specs/), and in a User Guide dated 2015 (019-00155/2015-06) by Apple Inc. entitled: “iPhone User Guide For iOS 8.4 Software”, which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Another example of a smartphone is Samsung Galaxy S6 available from Samsung Electronics headquartered in Suwon, South-Korea, described in the user manual numbered English (EU), March 2015 (Rev. 1.0) entitled: “SM-G925F SM-G925FQ SM-G925I User Manual” and having features and specification described in “Galaxy S6 Edge—Technical Specification” (retrieved October 2015 from www.samsung.com/us/explore/galaxy-s-6-features-and-specs), which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Wireless Repeater. A wireless repeater (also known as wireless range extender) receives an existing signal from a wireless router or wireless access point and rebroadcasts it to create a second network. When two or more hosts need to be connected over the IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the distance is too long for a direct connection to be established, a wireless repeater may be used to bridge the gap, so that wireless devices outside of the primary network will be able to connect through the new “repeated” network. However, from the point of view of the original router or access-point, only the repeater MAC is connected, making it necessary to enable safety features on the wireless repeater. Wireless repeaters are used to improve signal range and strength within homes and small offices, in an area with no wireless hotspots, or in an area with much interference.
Interference can be caused by many environmental factors such as microwaves (such as from a microwave oven), metal or metallic coated appliances, or an impeded line of sight. There are wireless range extending devices that conform to all 802.11 protocols. Most 802.11 compliant devices are backwards compatible. However, 802.11ac runs at 5 GHz and requires an access point capable of 5 GHz operation. 802.11ac is the most recent and third-generation Wi-Fi standard for wireless home networking. 802.11ac equipment is backward compatible with 802.11n, 802.11g or 802.11b equipment. Examples of AC-powered WiFi repeaters include the WiFi Range Extender WN3000RP available from Netgear, Inc. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., U.S.A. and described in a Netgear, Inc. guide (code 201-13061-05) dated April 2012 entitled: “Universal WiFi Range Extender WN3000RP Installation Guide”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, and WR100 300 Mbps Wireless-N repeater available from SmartRG Inc. Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., U.S.A., and described in a SmartRG Inc. user manual release 1.0 dated Nov. 29, 2012 entitled: “WR100 300 Mbps Wireless-N Repeater User Manual”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Instant Messaging. Instant Messaging (IM) is a type of online chat, which offers real-time text transmission over the Internet. Short messages are typically transmitted bi-directionally between two parties, when each user chooses to complete a thought and select “send”. Some IM applications can use push technology to provide real-time text, which transmits messages character by character, as they are composed. More advanced instant messaging can add file transfer, clickable hyperlinks, Voice over IP, or video chat. Instant messaging systems typically facilitates connections between specified known users (often using a contact list also known as a “buddy list” or “friend list”). Depending on the IM protocol, the technical architecture can be peer-to-peer (direct point-to-point transmission) or client-server (a central server retransmits messages from the sender to the communication device).
Instant messaging is a set of communication technologies used for text-based communication between two or more participants over the Internet or other types of networks. IM-chat happens in real-time. Of importance is that online chat and instant messaging differ from other technologies such as email due to the perceived quasi-synchrony of the communications by the users. Some systems permit messages to be sent to users not then ‘logged on’ (offline messages), thus removing some differences between IM and email (often done by sending the message to the associated email account). Various IP technologies are described in a thesis by Tim van Lokven (Jan. 23, 2011) entitled: “Review and Comparison of Instant Messaging Protocols”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Text Messaging. Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending brief, electronic messages between two or more mobile phones, or fixed or portable devices over a phone network. The term commonly refers to messages sent using the Short Message Service (SMS), but may include messages containing image, video, and sound content (known as MMS messages). The sender of a text message is known as a texter, while the service itself has different colloquialisms depending on the region. Text messages can be used to interact with automated systems, for example, to order products or services, or to participate in contests. Advertisers and service providers use direct text marketing to message mobile phone users about promotions, payment due dates, et cetera instead of using mail, e-mail or voicemail. In a straight and concise definition for the purposes of this English language article, text messaging by phones or mobile phones should include all 26 letters of the alphabet and 10 numerals, i.e., alpha-numeric messages, or text, to be sent by texter or received by the textee. SMS messaging gateway providers can provide gateway-to-mobile (Mobile Terminated—MT) services. Some suppliers can also supply mobile-to-gateway (text-in or Mobile Originated/MO services).
SMS. Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, Web, or mobile communication systems. It uses standardized communications protocols to allow fixed line or mobile phone devices to exchange short text messages. SMS as used on modern handsets as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series of standards as a means of sending messages of up to 160 characters to and from GSM mobile handsets. Though most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for the service has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS, as well as satellite and landline networks. The Short Message Service—Point to Point (SMS-PP) is standardized by the 3GPP as TS 23.040 and 3GPP TS 23.041, which define the Short Message Service-Cell Broadcast (SMS-CB), which allows messages (advertising, public information, etc.) to be broadcast to all mobile users in a specified geographical area.
Messages are sent to a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which provides a “store and forward” mechanism. It attempts to send messages to the SMSC recipients, and if a recipient is not reachable, the SMSC queues the message for later retry. Some SMSCs also provide a “forward and forget” option where transmission is tried only once. Both Mobile Terminated (MT, for messages sent to a mobile handset) and Mobile Originating (MO, for those sent from the mobile handset) operations are supported, and the message delivery is “best effort” scheme, so there are no guarantees that a message will actually be delivered to its recipient, but delay or complete loss of a message is uncommon. SMS is a stateless communication protocol in which every SMS message is considered entirely independent of other messages. Enterprise applications using SMS as a communication channel for stateful dialogue (where an MO reply message is paired to a specific MT message) requires that session management be maintained external to the protocol through proprietary methods as Dynamic Dialogue Matrix (DDM).
The Short Message Service is realized by the use of the Mobile Application Part (MAP) of the SS#7 protocol, with Short Message protocol elements being transported across the network as fields within the MAP messages. These MAP messages may be transported using ‘traditional’ TDM based signaling, or over IP using SIGTRAN and an appropriate adaptation layer. The Short Message protocol itself is defined by 3GPP TS 23.040 for the Short Message Service—Point to Point (SMS-PP), and 3GPP TS 23.041 for the Cell Broadcast Service (CBS). SMS is further described in a 3GPP Technical Specification 3GPP TS 22.011 (v143.0.0, 2015 September) entitled: “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Service accessibility (Release 14)”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
MMS. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones over a cellular network. It extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length. The most popular use is to send photographs from camera-equipped handsets, and is also used on a commercial basis by media companies as a method of delivering news and entertainment content and by retail brands as a tool for delivering scannable coupon codes, product images, videos and other information. Unlike text only SMS, commercial MMS can deliver a variety of media including up to forty seconds of video, one image, multiple images via slideshow, or audio plus unlimited characters.
MMS messages are delivered differently from SMS. The first step is for the sending device to encode the multimedia content in a fashion similar to sending a MIME e-mail (MIME content formats are defined in the MMS Message Encapsulation specification). The message is then forwarded to the carrier MMS store and forward server, known as the MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Centre). If the receiver is on another carrier, then the MMSC acts as a relay, and forwards the message to the MMSC of the recipient's carrier using the Internet.
Once the recipient MMSC has received a message, it first determines whether the receiver's handset is “MMS capable”, that it supports the standards for receiving MMS. If so, the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end. An SMS “control message” (ping) containing the URL of the content is then sent to the recipient's handset to trigger the receiver's WAP browser to open and receive the content from the embedded URL. Several other messages are exchanged to indicate status of the delivery attempt. Before delivering content, some MMSCs also include a conversion service known as “content adaptation” that will attempt to modify the multimedia content into a format suitable for the receiver. E-mail and web-based gateways to the MMS (and SMS) system are common. On the reception side, the content servers can typically receive service requests from both WAPs and normal HTTP browsers, so delivery via the web is simple. For sending from external sources to handsets, most carriers allow MIME encoded message to be sent to the receiver's phone number with a special domain. MMS is described in a 3GPP technical specification 3GPP TS 23.140 V6.16.0 (2009 March) entitled: “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; Multimedia Messaging Service (NITS); Functional description; Stage 2 (Release 6)”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Facebook. Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging service and software application which provides text and voice communication. Integrated with Facebook web-based Chat feature and built on the open MQTT protocol, Messenger lets Facebook users chat with friends both on mobile and on the main website. Facebook is described in a guide by American Majority organization (retrieved October 2015 from http://cmrw.org/) entitled: “facebook—A Beginner's Guide”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Twitter. Twitter is an online social networking service by Twitter Inc. (headquartered in San Francisco) that enables users to send and read short 140-character messages called “tweets”. Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them. Users access Twitter through the website interface, SMS, or mobile device applications. Tweets are publicly visible by default, but senders can restrict message delivery to just their followers. Users can tweet via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS) available in certain countries. Retweeting is when users forward a tweet via Twitter. Both tweets and retweets can be tracked to see which ones are most popular. Users may subscribe to other users tweets—this is known as “following” and subscribers are known as “followers” or “tweeps”, a portmanteau of Twitter and peeps. Users can check the people who are unsubscribing them on Twitter (“unfollowing”) via various services. In addition, users can block those who have followed them.
As a social network, Twitter revolves around the principle of followers. When you choose to follow another Twitter user, that user's tweets appear in reverse chronological order on your main Twitter page. Individual tweets are registered under unique IDs using software called snowflake, and geolocation data is added using ‘Rockdove’. The URL t.co then checks for a spam link and shortens the URL. Next, the tweets are stored in a MySQL database using Gizzard, and the user receives acknowledgement that the tweets were sent. Tweets are then sent to search engines via the Firehose API. The process itself is managed by FlockDB and takes an average of 350 ms, and the service's Application Programming Interface (API) allows other web services and applications to integrate with Twitter. Twitter is described in a guide (retrieved October 2015 from https://g.twimg.com/business/pdfs/Twitter_Smallbiz_Guide.pdf) by Twitter, Inc., entitled: “Twitter for Small Business—A GUIDE TO GET STARTED”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
WhatsApp. WhatsApp is an instant messaging app developed by WhatsApp Inc. (headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.) for smartphones that operates under a subscription business model. The proprietary, cross-platform app uses the Internet to send text messages, images, video, user location and audio media messages. WhatsApp uses a customized version of the open standard Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). Upon installation, it creates a user account using one's phone number as the username (Jabber ID: [phone number]@s.whatsapp.net) WhatsApp software automatically compares all the phone numbers from the device's address book with its central database of WhatsApp users to automatically add contacts to the user's WhatsApp contact list.
Multimedia messages are sent by uploading the image, audio or video to be sent to an HTTP server and then sending a link to the content along with its Base64 encoded thumbnail (if applicable). WhatsApp follows a ‘store and forward’ mechanism for exchanging messages between two users. When a user sends a message, it first travels to the WhatsApp server where it is stored. Then the server repeatedly requests the receiver acknowledge receipt of the message. As soon as the message is acknowledged, the server drops the message; it is no longer available in database of server. The WhatsApp service is described in an article published (Aug. 30, 2013) on MOBILE HCI 2013—COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION by Karen Church and Rodrigo de Oliveira (both of Telefonica Research) entitled: “What's up with WhatsApp? Comparing Mobile Instant-Messaging Behaviors with Traditional SMS”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Viber. Viber is an instant messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) app for smartphones developed by Viber Media, where in addition to instant messaging, users can exchange images, video and audio media messages. Viber works on both 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks. Viber includes text, picture and video messaging across all platforms, with voice calling available only to iPhone, Android and Microsoft's Windows Phone. The application user interface includes tab bar on the bottom, giving access to messages, recent calls, contact, the keypad and a button for accessing more options. Upon installation, it creates a user account using one's phone number as username. Viber synchronizes with the phone's address book, so users do not need to add contacts in a separate book. Since all users are registered with their phone number, the software returns all Viber users among the user contacts.
Mail Server. Mail server (a.k.a. Email server, Electronic Mail server, Mail Exchanger—MX) refer to a server operating as an electronic post office for email exchanging across networks, commonly performing the server-side of an MTA function. A Message Transfer Agent (or Mail Transfer Agent—MTA), or mail relay is a software that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another using a client-server application architecture. An MTA typically implements both the client (sending) and server (receiving) portions of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). The Internet mail architecture is described in IETF RFC 5598 entitled: “Internet Mail Architecture”, and the SMTP protocol is described in IETF RFC 5321 entitled: “Simple Mail Transfer Protocol” and in IETF RFC 7504 entitled: “SMTP 521 and 556 Reply Codes”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
The Domain Name System (DNS) typically associates a mail server to a domain with mail exchanger (MX) resource records, containing the domain name of a host providing MTA services. A message transfer agent receives mail from either another MTA, a Mail Submission Agent (MSA), or a Mail User Agent (MUA). The transmission details are specified by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). When a recipient mailbox of a message is not hosted locally, the message is relayed, that is, forwarded to another MTA. Every time an MTA receives an email message, it adds a ‘Received’ trace header field to the top of the header of the message, thereby building a sequential record of MTAs handling the message. The process of choosing a target MTA for the next hop is also described in SMTP, but can usually be overridden by configuring the MTA software with specific routes. Internet mail schemes are described in IEEE Annals of the History of Computing paper published 2008 by the IEEE Computer Society [1058-6180/08], authored by Craig Partridge of BBN Technologies entitled: “The technical Development of Internet Mail”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
A mail server infrastructure consists of several components that work together to send, relay, receive, store, and deliver email, and typically uses various Internet standard protocols for sending and retrieving email, such as the Internet standard protocol Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for sending email, the Internet standard protocols for retrieving email Post Office Protocol (POP), and Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAPv4). An example of a mail server software is ‘Microsoft Exchange Server 2013’ (available from Microsoft Corporation, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., U.S.A.), described in ‘Pocket Consultant’ book [ISBN: 978-0-7356-8168-2] published 2013 by Microsoft Press and entitled: “Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 —Configuration & Clients”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
The POP is specified in IETF RFC 1939 entitled: “Post Office Protocol”, and updated specification with an extension mechanism is described in IETF RFC 2449 entitled: “POP3 Extension Mechanism”, and an authentication mechanism is described in IETF RFC 1734 entitled: “POP3 AUTHentication command”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. IMAP4 clients can create, rename, and/or delete mailboxes (usually presented to the user as folders) on the mail server, and copy messages between mailboxes, and this multiple mailbox support also allows servers to access shared and public folders. IMAP4 is described in IETF RFC 3501 entitled: “INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL—VERSION 4rev1”, and the IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL) Extension may be used to regulate access rights, and is described in IETF RFC 4314 entitled: “IMAP4 Access Control List (ACL) Extension”, which are both incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
Mail servers may be operated, or used by mailbox providers, and mail servers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,218 to Gibbs et al. entitled: “Client/server Electronic Mail System for Providing Off-Line Client Utilization and Seamless Server Resynchronization”, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,832 to Gilchrist et al. entitled: “Object Oriented Mail Server Framework Mechanism”, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,136,901 to Chung et al. entitled: “Electronic Mail Server”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,383 to Kodama entitled: “E-Mail Server”, which are all incorporated in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
XMPP. Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is an open standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML (Extensible Markup Language) that enables the near-real-time exchange of structured yet extensible data between any two or more network entities. Designed to be extensible, the protocol has also been used for publish-subscribe systems, signaling for VoIP, video, file transfer, gaming, Internet of Things (IoT) applications such as the smart grid, and social networking services. The XMPP network uses a client-server architecture where clients do not talk directly to one another. The model is decentralized and anyone can run a server. By design, there is no central authoritative. Every user on the network has a unique XMPP address, called JID (for historical reasons, XMPP addresses are often called Jabber IDs). The JID is structured like an email address with a username and a domain name (or IP address) for the server where that user resides, separated by an at sign (@), such as username@example.com. Since a user may wish to log in from multiple locations, they may specify a resource. A resource identifies a particular client belonging to the user (for example home, work, or mobile). This may be included in the JID by appending a slash followed by the name of the resource. For example, the full JID of a user's mobile account could be username@example.com/mobile. Each resource may have specified a numerical value called priority. Messages simply sent to username@example.com will go to the client with highest priority, but those sent to username@example.com/mobile will go only to the mobile client. The highest priority is the one with largest numerical value. JIDs without a username part are also valid, and may be used for system messages and control of special features on the server. A resource remains optional for these JIDs as well. XMPP is described in IETF RFC 6120 entitled: “Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Core”, which describes client-server messaging using two open-ended XML streams, in IETF RFC 6121 entitled: “Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Instant Messaging and Presence”, which describes instant messaging (IM), the most common application of XMPP, and in IETF RFC 6122 entitled: “Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP): Address Format”, which describes the rules for XMPP addresses, also called JabberIDs or JIDs.
SIMPLE. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) is an open standard Instant Messaging (IM) and presence protocol suite based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The SIMPLE presence use the core protocol machinery that provides the actual SIP extensions for subscriptions, notifications and publications. IETF RFC 6665 defines the SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFY methods, where SUBSCRIBE allows to subscribe to an event on a server, and the server responds with NOTIFY whenever the event come up. IETF RFC 3856 defines how to make use of SUBSCRIBE/NOTIFY for presence. Two models are defined: an end-to-end model in which each User Agent handles presence subscriptions itself, and a centralized model. The message PUBLISH (IETF RFC 3903) allows User Agents to inform the presence server about their subscription states.
SIP defines two modes of instant messaging: The Page Mode makes use of the SIP method MESSAGE, as defined in IETF RFC 3428. This mode establishes no sessions, and the Session Mode. The Message Session Relay Protocol (RFC 4975, RFC 4976) is a text-based protocol for exchanging arbitrarily-sized content between users, at any time. An MSRP session is set up by exchanging certain information, such as an MSRP URI, within SIP and SDP signaling. SIMPLE is described in IETF RFC 6914 entitled: “SIMPLE Made Simple: An Overview of the IETF Specifications for Instant Messaging and Presence Using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
A method and apparatus for switching AC appliances and lights of residences and other automation systems through SPDT or DPDT relays connected in electrical circuit with SPDT or DPDT switch including a current sensor and/or a status sensor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,269,376 to Elberbaum entitled: “Method and Apparatus for Switching On-Off a Group or all Lights or Appliances of Premises”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, The operating key of the relay and the key lever of the electric switch can each be used for operating a dedicated appliance or light, a group of appliance and lights and all appliance and/or lights including scenarios setup via the many well-known two way, three way or four way light switches, by operating the switch lever or key in multi steps. The SPDT or DPDT relays are operated via RF, IR, and fiber optic communicating two way signal for operating the lights and reporting statuses.
A method for adding and connecting a remotely operated SPDT relay to an electric power circuit of an AC appliance, connected to a manually actuated electrical SPDT switch for integrating said AC appliance into an home automation network is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,649,727 to Elberbaum entitled: “Method and Apparatus for Remotely Operating AC Powered Appliances from Video Interphones or Shopping Terminals”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein, Each said relay and said SPDT switch includes a pole terminal and dual traveler terminals and said relay is similar to a shape and a size of an AC switch fit for installation into a standard electrical box.
A lighting system with reduced standby power is described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2013/0320866 to CHUNG entitled: “Lighting System with Reduced Standby Power”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The system includes a main control unit to control a lighting device; a driver to supply the control signal to the lighting device; and an AC-DC converting circuit to supply power to the driver. A method of reducing standby power according to the embodiment includes charging a standby power supply unit with power in a normal mode; checking whether a lighting off signal is transmitted and switching off a lighting, and simultaneously, shutting off the power supplied from the AC-DC converting circuit when the lighting off signal is transmitted; changing an operation mode of a lighting device from a normal mode to a standby mode; checking whether a voltage of the standby power supply unit is less than a predetermined level; and charging the standby power supply unit when the voltage is less than the predetermined level.
A hot plug module for an illuminating device is described in WIPO International Publication NO. WO 2015/024779 to ZHANG entitled: “Hot Plug Module and Driver for Illuminating Device and Illuminating Device”, which is incorporated in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. The module comprising: a detection unit for detecting a hot plug state to obtain a detecting state; and an impedance adjusting unit for adjusting an impedance state of the hot plug module in accordance with the detecting state, and the impedance adjusting unit comprises an impedance conversion unit whose impedance can be converted; and a conversion drive unit converting the impedance of the impedance conversion unit in accordance with the detecting state to adjust the impedance state. Further, the present invention relates to a driver for an illuminating device and an illuminating device
In consideration of the foregoing, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a method or a system supporting a power extraction in a residential or commercial lighting power environment, providing controlled power to a load, or remotely controlling power to a load. Preferably, such methods or systems may be providing an improved diagnostics and security, monitoring proper operation, or detecting deterioration, and are simple, secure, cost-effective, reliable, easy to install, use or monitor, has a minimum part count, enclosed in a small housing, minimum hardware, and/or using existing and available components, protocols, programs and applications, that enable better control, monitoring, security (or additional functionalities), and providing a better user experience.